The use of skip bins, also known as ‘dumpsters’ in other parts of the world, might have started with beekeepers in Europe sometime in the 1700s. At that time, beekeepers used baskets made of straw, wicker, or hollow logs to build the colonies. The term ‘skip bin’ comes from the Norse language ‘skeppa’, and the Old English language ‘sceppe’, which means ‘basket’.
The use of skep for the bees’ homes became outdated by the 1800s. But people in those days still referred to the thatching of the roof of a house with dry vegetation as a ‘skep’.
Skip bins in milling and mining
The Industrial Revolution introduced new technologies to the world. At cotton mills and coal mines in Europe, workers made used of extra-large wheeled baskets, which they called ‘skeps’, to more easily move materials around.
Coal miners used skeps as to measure what they had dug out of the ground. A skep roughly scaled about 17.4 litres. Eventually, ‘skep’ became ‘skip’, which is still the word miners use today to refer to the steel containers that run on rail tracks to transport coal out of the mines.
Invention of the modern skip bins
Sometime in the 1920s, containers resembling the coal miners’ skips appeared in the Southport area in England being used for waste removal. The idea came about when an employee of Pagefield, a truck manufacturing company, suggested adding detached boxes on the back of utility vehicles during a meeting with Southport city engineers who presented a problem about collecting wastes.
Since horse-drawn rubbish removal carts could not travel long distances, the trucks that hauled the bins would be more efficient in collecting and bringing household waste to the local landfills. The invention became known as the Pagefield system.
Soon, more truck makers around the world followed the system. Some even made improvements to the mechanisms to solve the problem of collecting rubbish in progressing cities. The invention and manufacture of these trucks also gave birth to skip bins for hire.
With the property boom in the 1960s, expanding communities needed to come up with good waste management solutions. Skip bins were made available for household and building waste clean-ups.
Australia and the skip bin system
Australia also made use of horse-drawn carts to collect bins and transport wastes like newspapers and bottles from households from the 1920s to the 1950s. But as the population expanded and consumption grew, the volume of waste also increased.
Like others, the country was adopting the skin bins hire system by the 1960s. Local councils enlisted premier skip bins services for regular collections among residential areas. These companies would then bring the waste at incinerators, dumpsites, or recycling centres.
Newcastle waste collection system
In Newcastle, residents are expected to follow three different garbage collection system. The red lid collection, which refers to general waste disposal, takes place once a week. And the yellow and green lid collections, which contain recycling and are collected every other week.
Residents are expected to set their bins with the correct lids on the kerb before 5 a.m. during the day of collection. Newcastle skips are also often collected even on days that fall on public holidays, except for Christmas Day.
Skip bins are not intended as a substitute for city waste collection but are a useful addition. You might have a need for a Newcastle skip hire if you’re doing a major clean-up of the backyard garden or estate. If you are building or renovating a house and need to haul construction wastes, you can also enlist a skip hire rental service.
Book your skip bin hire today!
Do you need a reliable cheap skip bin hire? Skip the Tip has been servicing Newcastle and nearby towns for nearly two decades now. Contact our team today for more details or browse through our website to find out more about our services.